Entry Points:
About Church of Jesus Christ Sites
The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-Day Saints was founded in 1830, in the State of New York, by Joseph Smith, Jun. It is also nicknamed the Mormon Church, after the Book of Mormon. The LDS Church is one of the fastest growing religions in the world, with about 13 million members as of 2005.
The LDS Church has built many beautiful temples and other structures, many of which are famous throughout the world, including the Salt Lake Temple, and the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle, home of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. In addition a large number of historic sites relavent to the Church's colorful and dynamic history have been preserved by the LDS Church.
Temple Square in Salt Lake City is the headquarters of the church. With the temple and tabernacle, acres of beautiful gardens and many points of historical interest, Temple Square is a popular tourist destination, with more visitors annually than the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park.
After the 1847 exodus to Utah, the LDS Church engaged in an extensive colonization program, settling cities throughout Utah and into Arizona, Idaho, Wyoming and Nevada. During this period it was customary to construct a "tabernacle" in major settlements, which was a place of worship suitable for holding the conferences of the church. With the help of skilled European craftsman emigrating to Utah, many beautiful monuments to the devotion of these early pioneers were constructed with very limited resources, using native stone and lumber.
Temples:
Anchorage, Alaska
Oakland, California
Logan, Utah
Monticello, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Vernal, Utah
Saint George, Utah